Mixed Tears
by Effervescent Passion
Summary: ::Oneshot. Love is such a fickle thing. It's always too late to realize anything. Cake doesn't really make anything better either. BuntaxOC.


Hiyas wonderful world out there!

I have FINAAAAAAAAAALLY decided to write another story..err..oneshot. I know, I know, I should really start writing stories, but..I'm...so...LAZY. So, in the end, I just ended up with a quickie, just to reduce the amount on my to-do list.

Bunta is my target this time. I love that adorable red-head. GREEN APPLE BUBBLEGUM FTW. :D (And ironically, I made NO mention of the green apple bubblegum ANYWHERE in this.)

Okay, so, have fun and I'll see you at the end.

Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis. I'd take Bunta and Ryoma for myself if that ever happened.

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><p><strong><span>Mixed Tears<span>**

_I was shaken by love from meeting you, and my wings lost their way._  
><em>Exposed to the rain, they are wet, and they woke the sleeping lifeforms.<em>  
><em>Fly away, for another day.<em>  
><em>"Call for me with your voice."<em>  
>-Yousei by May'n (Sheryl Nome from Macross Frontier<p>

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><p>"Aya?" He called out to her. Her eyes stared out into the open, looking thoughtful. Her head was tilted to the side, her hands holding a cell-phone, no, not hers. She was humming a soft tune as she perked up, hearing a friend call her nickname. She turned her head towards his direction.<p>

"Bunta!g

The bubbly red-head grinned. Marui Bunta skipped his way casually over to her, his school bag slung over his right shoulder. "Aya, Wha'cha doing?" He scratched his head as he paused near her.

"Oh, I'm waiting for Shou. He said he's getting changed. Practice just ended for him so…we're gonna drop by the café."

"So, a date for the two of you?"

"More or less." She let out a short laugh. "Wanna come with us? Shou and I are planning on getting some cake and coffee. He's probably starving now." Her copper eyes smiled as she gave a playful nudge in his direction. She knew he loved cake, and there was minimal chance he'd refuse. He did love cake after all.

Bunta frowned slightly hearing Shouta's name be called. "So, you, me, and Saito-kun?"

"Yep" came her reply with a smile.

Bunta thought about it for a moment. Cake…cake. His favourite thing in the world, well, after something else. Did he really want cake? Or…wouldn't he be a bother on their date? Then again…cake was involved. "Ehhh….that's so tempting. But, isn't it supposed to rain later?" Hopefully he could talk her out of asking him?

"Well, it's not that far away really. An umbrella should cover it if it ever does decide to rain. We don't plan to stay too long anyways, just grab a bite to eat. Besides, Shou wouldn't mind. We're friends right?" Grinning again, she nudged him once more playfully, Bunta staring.

Bunta sighed. The offer of cake was extremely tempting, since he had an idea of which cafe she was talking about. If it was the one he was thinking of, then that's the one with his favourite chocolate cake. No other café had chocolate cake like that one. "Okay, so maybe I'm kinda craving cake right now. Why the heck not? I'll go. Wait…You're talking about the café down by nineteenth street right?" Amaya gave a quick nod as she continued to grin. Reaching into his bag, he felt around the books and other things in his bag to find something bulky in texture. His fingers rested on a rough, yet smooth surface, cylindrical in shape. Good, his umbrella was in there, just in case. "When's Saito-kun coming?"

"He should be here soon." Amaya poked her head around the masses of locker until her copper orbs laid on an approaching figure. "Hey look, is that him? Hey! Shou!"

The honey-headed boy jogged lightly and came to an abrupt stop in front of his girlfriend who in turned her original grin at Bunta and directed it towards Shouta. He gave her a sheepish laugh and smiled back, his right hand patting her head. "Thanks for waiting. Sorry about that, I know I'm a little late. Coach kept me there for a little extra time."

As Amaya and Shou continued to talk about his soccer practice, Bunta couldn't help but feel…out of it. Maybe he shouldn't have accepted the offer, but firstly, it was cake, and secondly, it's been awhile since he's hung out with her. How could he refuse? After the day Amaya and Shouta started dating, Bunta and her had been spending less and less time together as time went on. He knows it can't be helped, but it was…sad to think about. Plus, Shouta and Bunta weren't particularly friends or anything. They knew each others name, and were even classmates, but that was as far as it went. They never really took the time to get to knew each other and have a good talk, even though Bunta was one of Amaya's closest friends, and Shouta was Amaya's boyfriend. Bunta was kinda advoiding him. He was technically closer to Niou anyways…

Upon seeing Bunta frowning through the corner of her eye, she asked Shouta about the current cafe situation. "Oh! Shou! Is it okay if Bunta comes along with us for the cake? It's been awhile since I've hung out with him, and he likes cake too so…" Amaya laced her two hands together and stared at Shouta. He gave a slight chuckle before answering.

"Sure. I don't see a problem so…let's head off soon. Marui-kun, let's get going shall we?" Shouta turned back towards his girlfriend and held out his hand. "Gimme your bag. I'll carry it for you."

Amaya's lips stretched out in a relaxed manner as she handed her bag to him. "Oh, your cell-phone. Here you go. I almost forgot I was holding it." The couple began to start walking in unison as she handed him his cell-phone. He flipped it open and took a quick scan before closing it and shoving it in his pocket. Even though Bunta only saw the wallpaper of his cell-phone for a second, he knew that was a photo of the two of them together. Of course.

"Did anyone call?" Shouta left his right hand in his pocket.

"Um…Zen called once. He wants to know if you're free on Sunday. He said something about receiving something you asked from him. But…that's about it for callers I think." She faced him as a puzzled look formed on her face.

"Oh…Zen? Got it."

"What's he asking about?"

Shouta laughed nervously. "Nothing in particular." His response earned him a pout from Amaya as she frowned and bumped the side of Shouta's body.

From the back, Shouta and Amaya…looked really…good together. Technically, their personalities matched well too. No one could really say they didn't look good together, even if they were upset with the fact they were together.

I mean really. Shouta was pretty popular in school.

Shouta was a member of the school soccer team. Sure, Bunta's part of Rikkai's famous tennis team, but, soccer was equally important at their school. There's the fact Shouta's the captain of the team. He's attractive, smart, and a nice guy to boot. What girl wouldn't be attracted to him? Amaya, or Aya as her closer friends call her, was one of those girls who fell for him, and was the lucky one to have feelings reciprocated.

"Aya." Shouta called out her name.

Amaya replied back quickly upon hearing her name be called. "Yeah?"

"You free on Sunday?" He asked her casually as Bunta watched him curl his hands around hers, their fingers interlocking together perfectly. The ring he got her was peeking through her hand, as well as the matching ring he wore, the silver seeming to pop as their hands were locked together. The couple rings he got the two of them had been worn faithfully for awhile. Bunta has yet to see either of them without it.

"Ehh…? But…didn't Zen just…?"

He scoffed at her. "Zen? Doesn't matter. I just gotta pick the stuff up. I'm free completely after so, let's go out somewhere. How's the aquarium sound? I heard they got some new fish on display that's supposed to be beautiful or something."

Bunta didn't really want to listen in, but he couldn't help it. He literally was walking just about a meter away from the couple. Deciding to give them their space, he let his mind wander as it landed back onto the day they first started to go out, that fateful day.

But man…no one expected it to turn out that way.

xxx

"Amaya…?" Shouta's cheeks was tinted a fairly light pink as he called out her name. He had just finished his soccer practice for the day as Bunta and Amaya were walking together, preparing to head home. "Come here for a second. I need to ask you something."

He pulled her away, a considerable distance since Bunta failed to hear their voices. It was by watching her reactions and the actions that followed that he understood what happened.

Her face was first pulled into a shocked expression, followed by a bright pink flush over her face, and finally, the two of them embraced. They both appeared to be embarrassed afterwards and walked off in separated directions, Shouta running off to his soccer teammates, the guys cheering, and Amaya running to Bunta, a huge grin on her face and sqealing with excitement.

They were together.

Dating.

An item.

Bunta had asked one of Shouta's friends about whether his feelings for Amaya were real, and sure enough, apparently they were. According to him, Shouta had been interested in Amaya for awhile, ever since they were put into the same group one year for a school festival a few years back. He never mustered the courage to ask her out, since he knew they were too young, and the fact he had a few…complications for deal with on his own.

They've been dating for half a year already, and it seems as if they had no plans of letting each other go.

xxx

"Bunta?" Amaya called out his name. Bunta's eyes shot open as he realized he had spaced out.

"I'm sorry, what?" Bunta asked back, blinking his violet orbs at her.

Amaya tilted her head to the side, continuing to nibble on her piece of strawberry mousse cake. She took her tiny fork and took off a small piece before putting it in her mouth. "You spaced out for a bit. Is something bothering you?"

Bunta turned his eyes down, looking at his half-eaten chocolate cake. The heavy brown-coloured cream seemed to glare at him back, telling him to finish it. Bunta's stomach suddenly didn't feel too well to continue eating. As hungry as he may have actually been, he found his stomach feeling quite full suddenly. He looked up again, found himself staring at Shouta for a few seconds, and picked up his fork and began to eat again. "Nothing's wrong. Don't worry about it."

It felt very wrong. Bunta wanted to go home, or wanted them to hurry up and leave. He felt awkward around the couple, especially while the two of them were chattering amongst themselves. He felt like he was pretty much eavesdropping and intruding on their private time together, which of course, isn't right.

Rain was falling hard from out the window. The liquid droplets falling downwards dripped onto the cement ground, creating puddles of clear liquid. Cars that passed by on the street created ripples and splashes of the water, whereas the rainwater began to flow into drains. The rain really was falling down heavy. Was the sky trying to tell the world something? Was the sky angry? Was the sky sad? Why was the sky crying? Or maybe, maybe the sky was expressing the very emotions Bunta wanted to show because it wouldn't be right for him to do it, especially in front of other company. Bunta had to keep up a cheerful front though, for her, and for himself. It wouldn't be fair to show to her, to anyone, that he didn't really want to be here.

Maybe the sky really was crying.

Bunta didn't like the rain, mostly because it always gave off the impression of a bad day, or a gloomy day. The rain represented the cold and the lonely in his point of view. Rain had always been his least favourite precipitation. He missed the sun. Rain always brought down his usually cheerful mood.

Again, rain reminded him of tears.

He stopped staring at the rain, trying to rid himself of his slowly depressing mood and focused back into reality, turning back around to pay more attention to the food that laid in front of him.

He took another bite out of this chocolate cake, this time taking the time to savour the flavour. Thinking about it, this cake was sweeter than he thought. It was sweet to the point where he felt slightly sick. Was there something wrong with him? He never felt like that. Plus, this was his favourite chocolate cake. Why…why did everything have to feel so wrong right now? Even his most favourite dessert in the world seemed to taste off, even if the texture and all else felt the same.

The texture was smooth, the creaminess mixing with the saliva in his mouth. The cream was unusually thick in his mouth as he chewed and swallowed, the chocolate leaving a distinct aftertaste.

He paused again to take a look at the couple in front of him.

Shouta had his arms around Amaya, grinning. Why did Shouta have to like Amaya? Why…why her? And why him? Of all people? Why did Shouta have to have everything he didn't? Why couldn't he be him?

Amaya suddenly jumped up, feeling a slight tickle in her pocket. "Oh! My cell-phone." She reached into her pocket and took out her baby pink cell-phone, flipping it over. She pressed a few buttons and puckered her mouth in a frowning expression. Her eyes scanned right to left as she read the message before putting the cell-phone back into her pocket. "Darn. I'm really sorry Bunta! My mom's calling me to head back right now! Shou, let's get going. Mom's gonna be pissed if we're late. I can't believe I nearly forgot!"

"You guys are going together Aya?" Bunta asked, dropping his fork onto the table.

"Yeah, my mom was gonna take us out somewhere. Again, I'm so sorry Bunta! I swear I'll make it up to you one day. Uhh, I'll go pay for the food."

"Don't bother. I'll cover it. Plus, I'm gonna spend a little more time here before heading home. You guys have fun."

Amaya blinked her eyes before bowing once. She grabbed her bag and rushed, hearing her boyfriend call her name repeatedly. "See you tomorrow Bunta!'

He waved goodbye as he watched her figure disappear and the door close. The tiny bells that rung from above the door chimed quickly, the sound still ringing softly as it faded into the background. Bunta continued to watch the two of them as the couple stood right out the door, pausing and their heads up, looking at the liquid falling from the sky. Amaya took out her umbrella from her schoolbag and opened it, Shouta grabbing the umbrella from her and taking an arm around her. They rushed out into the pouring rain in unison and crossed the street together, their bodies disappearing as they turned a corner.

Bunta felt lonely, silence engulfing him. Despite the fact that there was chattering around him, he blocked all noises out as he placed his head on his hand, head turned towards the falling rain. It went pitter-patter as it fell against the ground, the pounding of the rain sounding like thunder, even from beyond the window.

He couldn't block the sound of the falling rain no matter what.

Was the world hating on him right now?

...did he really just simply watch?

Did he just realize how indecisive he himself is?

Is he the reason why he had to let her go?

A little girl walked by with her mother from outside the window. She chatted happily as she talked to her mother about the night's dinner. She turned her head once and faced the café window, seeing a man with bright red-hair sitting there.

She paused for a second.

The rain that splattered against the window dripped down, falling in a line.

The rain mixed with tears, both falling in the same line.

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><p>If you don't really don't get the ending, what I'm saying is essentially this:<p>

A little girl walks by the same window that Bunta is sitting opposite of. She stops as she begins to watch him because she's a kid and we all know gets get easily distracted by anything shiny (in this case, Bunta then.) Since it was raining, you know how rain slides down the window since the surface is all smooth and stuff? Well, let's just say, a certain drop of water decided to be on the window and in the little girl's point of view, it was right on his eye as it fell. At the same time, Bunta could feel water falling down his face. So, in short: The little girl saw rain that looked like tears falling, while at the same time, he really was crying.

okay, not sure if you get my point, but, hopefully you do? ;P

I'm gonna try SUPER hard to actually write a REEAL story. I feel guilty always writing one-shots, just because I'm lazy. I'll see what I can do for the next story. No clue what I wanna write though, since I wanna write a million things at the same time. I'll take it slow...but not too slow...maybe. I'll have to see.

Okayyy, thanks for reading y'all.

Rate and Review! :D (please?)


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